


Breathe

by WarlordFelwinter



Series: Dishonored / Death of the Outsider [1]
Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Genre: M/M, Post DotO
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-06-10 23:20:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15302283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WarlordFelwinter/pseuds/WarlordFelwinter
Summary: bit of a ramble to get me back in the mood for writing, after replaying death of the outsider. gonna go replay the other two now...





	Breathe

**Author's Note:**

> bit of a ramble to get me back in the mood for writing, after replaying death of the outsider. gonna go replay the other two now...

In. Out.

Like the tide.

To and fro.

Inhale. Exhale. Slowly, slowly.

The air smelled sharp, and he could taste the salt on his lips. Eyes shut, he simply breathed. Even in the dark, the input from his other senses was almost overwhelming. Everything at once. There was no silence, no wall of whispers to remove him from the world around. He tried to focus on what he could hear. The waves against the hull of the ship, sea birds calling to one another, the deep rumbling of distant whalesong. And footsteps approaching.

"What are you doing?"

"Breathing," he replied. He opened his eyes and looked at Billie, who was watching him curiously. She smiled slightly. Her Void touched eye was hidden behind a bandana wrapped over half her face, her arm covered by the sleeve of her coat, doing her best to appear a normal citizen. Since she had burned the _Dreadful Wale_ as a funeral pyre for Daud, they had bought passage on a fishing ship heading to Dunwall. Billie had suggested Dunwall as a place to go, as it wasn't safe for her to remain in Karnaca, with her face plastered on every wall, and he had agreed, more thinking about a person than a place.

"So… you haven't told me your name," Billie said, leaning on the railing next to him.

"That's because I don't know it," he replied, squinting as the sun glinted off the water. Was everything outside the Void so _bright_?

"But… we gave it back to you," Billie said, tilting her head. "Daud told you what it was."

"Implying I listen to anything Daud says."

She rolled her eye. "And you don't remember?"

"I have a mortal mind now," he said. "And four thousand years of memories. It's… too much. Things are falling away." It was an unsettling feeling, knowing there were gaps in his mind, but being unable to fill them with anything other than conjecture. Certain memories, even from so long ago, were crystal clear. His mother's face; a cold, bleak landscape; people in hoods tying him down to a slab of stone and slicing his throat open. Of course he would remember that.

"Then what am I supposed to call you?" Billie asked. "I don't think it will go very well if I call you Outsider."

His lips twitched slightly. "I suppose not. I'll think of something eventually."

She nodded, looking out over the water. The sun flashed across the waves again and he closed his eyes, focusing on what he could feel. The cold metal of the railing under his hands, tiny droplets of sea water misting his skin, the heat of the sun soaking into the dark fabric of his coat, the ever so slight rocking of the boat beneath his feet. Deeper still, his heartbeat. A new feeling. He wondered if people were always so aware of their hearts beating.

Somewhere, far away, he heard a whale sing. It rumbled through the waves, through his blood. He dropped his head, covering his ears, and heard it in his heartbeat. He felt Billie's hand on his shoulder, a hand that held no warmth, and the Void sparked against him. He stumbled away, shaking his head.

Billie was staring at him. "Are you okay?"

"I…" he faltered. "Probably not," he admitted. He had only been free from the Void a few days, after spending four thousand years there. "Can you hear the whales?"

She frowned. "What whales?"

"The Void still sings to me, I cannot escape it," he murmured, confused. After effects. He hoped they would subside.

"Maybe you should get some rest. There are a few hours yet until we reach Dunwall."

He shook his head. "Not while we're on the water."

"All right." Billie didn't press, for which he was grateful. After a moment, he rejoined her at the railing, eyeing her Void metal arm warily. Her power had been a quiet hum since he had come out of the Void, but he was conscious of it now.

"Do you know a safe place in Dunwall?" she asked after a silence. "I haven't been back there in a while, things must have changed."

He hummed in assent. "Dunwall Tower," he said. Billie looked at him sharply.

"Excuse me?"

"What?"

"We can't just waltz into the palace. I'm a wanted assassin."

"You helped Corvo regain the empire from Delilah. I believe he has forgiven you for helping Daud kill Jessamine. At the very least, he and the empress have neutral feelings toward you."

"And you? He'll recognize you."

"I am not worried about Corvo," he said simply, in a tone that invited no questions. He wasn't concerned about the Lord Protector at all. He had no reason to be. Corvo, unlike Daud, had never acted threateningly toward him. Much the opposite. He was one of only a few in four thousand years to not abuse the Outsider's gift.

Billie sighed. "All right. I'll see you to the Tower. I owe it to you to get you settled."

 

* * *

 

Something was broken in the Void.

Corvo shifted uncomfortably as the back of his hand prickled. He saw Emily glance at him out of the corner of his eye, but she didn't ask. He clenched his fist behind his back, trying to focus on his surroundings. They only had a few minutes left before they would close the Tower again. Emily always took time every day to personally hear issues and concerns from her citizens. He wasn't sure what the current complaint was—a property dispute, he thought—but he was more interested in watching the edges of the room, observing the people who came in, deciphering their body language.

Emily spoke, making a decision and dismissing the man. As he left, she sighed, relaxing. She stood and Corvo looked at her.

"What's next?" she asked.

"You have a meeting with—" he began, interrupted as the guard captain walked in, escorting two people. Emily looked surprised and sat back down on the throne, quickly blinking her surprise away into a calm mask.

"Apologies, my lady. They insisted on seeing you today."

"That's all right," Emily said, dismissing the guard with a wave.

Corvo was tense. He could feel Void energy coming from the woman. He recognized her, though he had never expected to see her again, certainly not walking through the front doors of Dunwall Tower. She was dangerous, and he ought to be focusing on her, but instead he found himself staring at the young man next to her.

The man looked back at him, with eyes the color of seaglass, from a face otherwise so familiar. It was nearly the same, but wrong. The same dark clothes, the same lean body, the same young and somehow old face. But the air around him was clear. His boots rested solidly on the tile floor. His chest moved ever-so-slightly with breath.

"How can I help you?" Emily asked.

"Thank you for seeing us, Lady Emily. My name is Billie Lurk…" She glanced at her companion and followed his gaze.

"Billie Lurk," Emily murmured. "I know your name. You helped regain the empire from Delilah. We owe you a debt."

Billie blinked, surprised. "In that case… my friend here needs somewhere to live."

Emily's eyes widened slightly.

Corvo walked down the stairs, the Void sparking against his skin again. He heard Emily stand behind him.

"Corvo," she said, calm but sharp. He ignored her and grabbed Billie's arm, pulling her sleeve back to reveal a strange Void metal arm, glowing softly, pieces shifting and blurring. He looked back at Emily.

Billie pulled the wrapping off her face, revealing a similarly crafted eye patch.

Emily approached cautiously. "What happened?" she asked. She was less bothered than most by relics of the Void. After Delilah had taken over, Corvo had told her about the Void, and showed her his own powers. She seemed almost scientifically curious about Billie's prosthetics.

"Gifts," Billie said, glancing at her companion.

Corvo leaned in toward Emily. "We should talk about this somewhere else," he murmured. She nodded.

"Come, let's discuss this in my study." She turned and headed into the adjoining hall. Corvo followed behind the two guests as they walked upstairs to Emily's office. As the door closed, Emily turned to Billie.

"I sense a story," she said, leaning against her desk.

Billie glanced at Corvo. "I found Daud. He's… dead, now, but before he went, he gave me one last job. One last mark. I infiltrated an ancient cult and stole this." She lifted her Void metal hand and summoned a strange, black, twin bladed knife. It flickered and shifted the same way her arm did. As it appeared, her companion shifted back slightly.

Corvo narrowed his eyes. "I've seen that before," he said. In an ancient part of the Void, where the Outsider had revealed the ritual that created him. A remnant of a cultist, frozen forever, holding a split blade.

"What is it?" Emily asked.

"The blade that made the Outsider," Billie said. "Daud blamed him for all the chaos in the world—" The young man snorted quietly at this, and Billie silenced him with a glance, "—and had a plan to kill him. He died before he could, but I found a way into the Void. I found the Outsider's body. And Daud…" She faltered and inhaled sharply, clearing her thoughts. "Instead of killing him, I convinced Daud to free him. The mark, like the one on your hand—" she gestured at Corvo, "—is his name, but only the dead can read it. Daud gave it back to him, and it severed his connection to the Void."

Corvo looked down at his hand, remembering the strange way the Void had felt the past few days. He shifted his gaze, from his hand to the young man next to Billie.

"What's your name?" Corvo asked.

The Outsider blinked. "Mortal minds are tricky," he replied evasively. His voice was familiar, but lacked the whispering echoes of the Void. It sounded small, in comparison. Tired. Profoundly human. "Four thousand years is a lot of time to fit into one mind. Things fall through the cracks."

"He forgot," Billie interrupted and the Outsider frowned at her.

"I… forgot," he said stiffly.

Corvo huffed, smiling slightly. Emily looked between them, her expression thoughtful, but otherwise unreadable.

"You're the Outsider?" she asked after a moment.

He inclined his head. "I was. I suppose I'm not anymore."

Billie cleared her throat lightly. "Anyway, your highness, I feel somewhat obligated to get him on his feet. Given I'm a wanted criminal in Karnaca, we thought perhaps…"

Emily looked at Corvo and he nodded. She smiled. "You're welcome to stay here for the time being."

 

* * *

 

"Is it strange?"

The Outsider felt Corvo's voice more than he heard it, leaning against the Lord Protector as he was. A quiet rumble that interrupted the steady tide of his breathing. He didn't open his eyes.

"Is what strange?"

"Breathing."

He chuckled. "Is it strange to you?"

"Small movements," Corvo replied.

"It's… new. I find myself thinking about it a lot, afraid my heart will forget it needs to beat," he admitted.

Below them, he could hear the distant sounds of the city at night. The cold breeze carried the tang of salt from the coast, marred by a sharper scent that he recognized as whale gore. He could still hear them singing. Mourning.

"Can you hear the whales?" he whispered.

Corvo shifted, looking down at him. His arm tightened slightly around the Outsider's shoulders. "You can still hear them?"

"I will never be free from the Void entirely," he said, opening his eyes and looking across the roof tops toward the water.

Corvo was quiet for a moment, before the subject inevitably arose. "You gave Billie her eye and arm… Why? You knew she was aiming to kill you. You helped her?"

"Perhaps I knew she wouldn't. She's like you, in some ways. Once she found her way to the source of the cult, and saw what they had done, I believed she would find another way." He paused. "Or perhaps I was simply tired."

Corvo lowered his head, beard scratching lightly on the Outsider's cheek as he pressed a soft kiss to his temple.

"I was worried," he murmured. "The Void has become chaotic and strange. It felt broken. I was afraid… Well, I'm glad Billie made the choice she did."

"As am I, though this all will take some getting used to. Being apart from the Void feels almost… wrong. To only be able to see what is in front of me." He looked up at Corvo, taking a moment to observe the details of his face in the dim light. A face he had already long since memorized. His hand clenched, nails dragging lightly across the fabric of Corvo's coat. Underneath his palm he could feel the steady beat of Corvo's heart. He could smell a subtle musk, reminding him of Karnaca, a decidedly Serkonian taste that had stayed with Corvo even in Dunwall. Everything felt more solid now, in mortal senses. He closed his eyes, breathing in… and out… syncing his breath with Corvo's. Only a few heartbeats passed before he spoke again, but it felt slower.

He reopened his eyes and found Corvo watching him. He reached up and carded his fingers through his hair.

"You should grow your hair out," he said. "I liked it better long."

Corvo laughed quietly. "I don't know that Emily will agree with you."

"What's an empress to a god?"

"Former god," Corvo corrected.

"Semantics."

Corvo huffed another quiet laugh and looked at the sky. "Will the Void change without you?" he asked. "What will become of our world, without you holding it back?"

"There was a god before me. There will be one after me," he said simply. "Let's not talk of this now." He laid his head on Corvo's chest, closing his eyes. He hummed quietly with the whalesong that still echoed through his mind, and Corvo said nothing, just held him close as the night passed around them.


End file.
